‘Informal settlers deserve title deeds’

GOVERNMENT should give title deeds to informal settlers who were duped by land barons as a way of strengthening the country’s land bank, economist Eddie Cross has said.
Over the past few years, numerous illegal settlements have emerged as a result of fraudulent land distributions, which have been perpetrated by errant “land barons”.
“These land barons would illegally get land for free and cut it into small pieces before selling it to home seekers,” Cross said while speaking at the Manicaland Smart Cities Summit in Mutare on Friday.
“If we gave title deeds to the people who built on these informal lands, we would create millions of wealth for our people.
“They could use that to borrow as collateral and our economy which is largely informal would benefit immensely from that,” Cross said.
According to a research published by the International Monetary Fund earlier this year, Zimbabwe has the second largest informal economy in the world. The research, which ranked the southern African country second to Bolivia, suggested that 60,6 percent of Zimbabwe’s economy was “informal”.
Experts have suggested that local banks’ appetite to lend to local businesses has gone down over the past few years on account of the general decline in the credit profile of the increasingly informal economy.
Government has expressed its commitment to deal with land barons but there has not been a solid position on recourse for the victims of the fraudsters.
Earlier this year, scores of families at Caledonia, which is a prime example of a land baron-prompted community, were ordered to vacate houses built on sites reserved for schools.
The giant informal settlement is said to be home to over 100 000 people.
Caledonia, which now falls under the management of Harare City Council, has over 29 195 stands and a population larger than that of Bindura.
The settlement has reportedly been ravaged by massive land scams and fraud amounting to more than $60 million.
Meanwhile, Cross said government’s plan to build a city in Mount Hampden, where it also plans to build the new parliament, is ill advised.
“I don’t agree with the idea of putting a city out in Mount Hampden. We have plenty of empty office space in Harare. And our urban settlements around the country need attention, where do we get the resources to build a city in the bush?” Cross said.
Cross said government should focus on figuring out the basics before persuing ambitious goals.
He said the country should work on developing the economies around cities.
“Mutare could grow much more soft wood and avocados.
“Coffee production has gone down dramatically, if this was addressed we would have a decent economy in Manicaland,” he said.
He said utilities should also be given attention.
“Fifty percent of the population in Harare has had no water for 10 years,” he said.
newsdesk@fingaz.co